According to Mayor Kiss’ comments on ‘You Can Quote Me’, he felt that the land sale would go through…

City to discuss proposed Intervale land sale

But, the public does not seem to be in agreement with the Mayor’s thoughts of the land sale, according to the Free Press poll:

	53.6%
No

	7.1%
Unsure

	13.1%
Don’t Care

Also, for those concerned with the City Kids issue, Mayor Kiss will be attending a meeting tonight at Burlington Electric regarding the City Kids program:
CITY KIDS MEETING Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss will convene a public meeting Tuesday night to discuss the city’s proposal to merge the City Kids after-school program in Burlington After School, a school district program. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. in the auditorium of Burlington Electric Department, 585 Pine St.

Since Ch 3’s ‘You Can Quote me‘ program is unscripted, (leaving no script you can read on the WCAX site) and you have to purchase the tape of the program to learn what was discussed if you did not watch the program, I thought I’d post a summary of what was discussed for those that missed the program… some interesting issues were discussed.

1. Gun control
1. [Kiss]Larger city mayors are addresssing this issue, possibly having the police seize guns at domestic dispute scenes as an option; “perhaps it should be addresssed at state, not at municipality level.”
2. [Andy Potter] Guns in involved in the crimes here in Burlington were illegal, all the laws in the world will not help the issue, your thoughts?
1. [Kiss] Suggest more laws in Vermont because (the laws) are too open
2. Sanctuary City
1. [Kiss] Someone who is undocumented is a public safety issue, as they can be reported to INS
2. [Marselis] Plattsburgh was a sanctuary in the past for those waiting to be processed for entry to Canada, which lead to budgetary strain
3. Intervale
1. [Andy] Is it a good deal? $200,000? If it was on the waterfront, it may possibly be a public scandal…
1. [Kiss] Yes, it is a good deal; land in Intervale is valued differently than waterfront ; I believe the sale will go forward
2. Why isn’t Burlington buying the land?
1. [Kiss] The Intervale organization already has a vision for the land, and they could be our partner (city would own 1%)
4. Moran
1. [Andy] Where is it curently headed?
1. [Kiss] We’ve heard from the survey that we should find a good use for it, the city gave a generous view, but it was not definative; Understood the results as: Whatever decision is ok with us
   As it now stands, it is undecided, trying to now get plans, sketches from the survey results
2. [Marselis] Can the building be demolished?
1. Yes, we estimate it would cost over $1 million, but some proposals, such as the one for the Y also shows it is reclaimable
5. North 40
1. [Andy] Where is it going?
1. [Kiss] No decision yet, moving slowly on development in that area; looking more towards possibly developing other areas of waterfront, like the railyards
6. Southern Connector
1. [Andy] What are your thoughts about the railyard ?
1. [Kiss] Land is currently owned by the state, but it also has a long term lease on the land by the Vermont Railway
2. [Andy] What is the length of the lease? 30 years?
1. No, much longer than 30 years
3. [Andy] Developing the railyard?
1. [Kiss] Yes, it would be ideal, but not something that would be immediate
7. City Resources
1. [Marselis] Have the revenue sources for the city been exhausted?
1. [Kiss] I dont think so, we’re trying to be efficient, we have the lowest tax rates for schools in the county; our goal is to do more with less
2. [Marselis] I find it kind of funny that a Progressive is saying we could get more out of property taxes…
1. [Kiss] I’m still sorting out a taskforce to discuss alternative methods of revenue
3. [Marselis] What would you suggest, a city income tax?
1. [Kiss] I am not afraid to bring up that suggestion, as alternatives need to be discussed
4. [Marselis] How about the idea of a Metro Police or Fire?
1. [Kiss] We have looked at it, some potential, such as a metro dispatch service, but not to use it for police department
8. Burlington Electric
1. [Andy] BED’s long-term power, in wake of the current energy news… any plans?
1. [Kiss] Our major commitment is energy effiency; committed to wind power, which will reduce the energy need by 1/3
2. [Andy] But renewable energy would not sustain the city…
1. [Kiss] I have no answer for the long-term view

As he stated in the program, Mayor Kiss believes he is connected to residents, and residents are able to contact him by: [email protected] or 802-865-7272
He is also to attend tomorrow’s meeting about the Intervale land sale – 6PM at Contois Auditorium

For those that missed yesterday’s Ch. 6 o’clock news Around The Region Segment, there will be a series of 4 meetings starting 7/24 and lasting until 8/3 that are open to the public.

From what Jeremy and I had heard at our last BBA meeting on 7/6/6 (from DPW director Goodkind), there is a change to what was originally in mind to be worked on: it now is set to connect the interstate to Pine St without going through neighborhoods, which is 1/2 of what the plan originally was. Goodkind believes it will not help the King street area’s current congestion, and that the project will not be connecting Pine street to Battery street.
Goodkind also mentioned that the Act 250 process is still not over, as well as the envronmental studies, but if all goes well, they expect to start construction in Spring/Summer of 2007.

Below is the text from last night’s Ch. 3 segment:
Burlington’s long-delayed Southern Connector will be the subject of four public information meetings starting next week. A series of problems halted construction of the road almost twenty years ago. But officials say work might resume as early as next year — if the road gets its environmental and land use permits. Formal hearings are expected in the Fall. The informational meetings will be informal — an opportunity for anyone who wants to know more about the project. ((Steve Goodkind/Burlington Public Works Director: “They can ask questions and unlike hearings there’s a back and forth on this, give and take. They can ask, answer questions, get more information. A hearing, you go and speak your peace and eventually you’ll get an answer.”)) The first of the informational meetings is this coming Monday, July 24th at six o’clock at the Burlington public works department.

And the meeting times:

Southern Connector Informational Meetings:

Monday, July 24 at 6 P.M.
Burington Public Works Dept.
645 Pine Street

Thursday, July 27 at 12 P.M.
Contois Auditorium
Burlington City Hall

Monday, July 31 at 2 P.M.
Burington Public Works Dept.
645 Pine Street

Thursday, August 3 at 6 P.M.
Burington Public Works Dept.
645 Pine Street

Image from www.grucci.com

Yup, that’s right, today starts the new 1% local option sales tax (or LOST as I call it) here in Vermont’s Queen City.

Surprising that there’s hardly any mention of this online, aside from the articles about it being voted on & discussed at City council meetings.

As my husband Jeremy says, “What a way to celebrate the Independence day, but with a new tax“

Thanks to Nancy Remsen at Free Press for publishing an article about the issue, as well as the cigarette tax increase, and the number of laws the Vermont Legislature has enacted during this past session – 139

7/3/6 Addendum: Now more coverage on LOST:

• Local Tax Takes Effect In Burlington – WCAX 7/2/6
  

• Burlington’s one-percent sales tax took effect on Saturday – Free Press 7/2/6

In today’s Free Press, there’s an article about the Burlingon School District ditching the Burlington Telecom service for a faster & more affordable service, but get this: for the same price, they would be getting 5 times the speed of service from the main provider that they already receive!

Kudos to the school district for taking initiative on this & saving some of our taxpayer money!

Burlington School District switches Internet provider service from Burlington Telecom

Yeah, I know, been slacking on the blog entries; but hey, ya gotta enjoy what summer we have while it’s here 🙂

Here’s a snippet of local political news…

A repost from PoliticsVT’s Blog from 6/24:

It looks like the Burlington Free Press has caught on to the power of blogging!

Nancy Remsen, Sam Hemingway and Terri Hallenbeck, which make up the Free Press’ political reporting staff across the state have started a blog (with permission from the Free Press) to focus on all things political in this Campaign ’06.

Even though the Free Press threatened to sue us, we thought as a jesture of good will between our little blog and the Garnett News System — we will post Nany and Terri’s blog on our short list of PoliticsVT approved sites. Some of you may not know, but it takes a lot to get on PoliticsVT’s approved site list. Sites need to demonstrate a dedication to informing the public, provide good information for the public and be operated with fairness for all political beliefs.

Terri, Nancy and Sam are very strong journalists and are noted for their solid understanding on politics and government. We’re glad that they started a blog. Way to go!

Click here, to go to VT Buzz.

Image by Citizens for Limited Taxation

Tom Licata, former candidate for City Council in Ward 6, is organizing
a Taxpayer protest during the Monday’s City Council meeting, 7PM City
Hall’s Contois Auditorium.

Here is a recent letter to the editor of the Free
Press from Tom:
(Titles for the letters are usually determined by the Free Press)

Kiss should keep focus local

Memo to Burlington Mayor Bob Kiss: It appears you are restless and in
search of a problem to solve. Rather than taking on the gun lobby or
finding “solidarity” with illegal immigrants, stay closer to home and
find solidarity with an oppressed group of Burlington taxpayers.

You know, I’ve never heard of a city or state that has been taxed into
prosperity. Have you? Rather than having taxpayers continue to
shoulder an unfair burden of their tax dollars supporting
dysfunctional government processes, you could start with consolidating
city services through an efficiency and effectiveness study. Then,
move on to building a five-, 10- and 20-year economic growth strategy
for our waterfront (hint: over time, tax revenues are determined by
economic and productivity growth). For “peace-of-mind,” our citizens
deserve to have more certainty over their future tax increases. A
“Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights,” which would limit tax increases to no
more than inflation, would force you to set spending priorities the
way that families and businesses do, and would require government to
live within its means.

Lastly, although you and many in your City Council may derive
vicarious gratification from supporting our city’s public sector and
teacher unions with generous and unaffordable benefits and pay
packages, it’s time to stop these indulgences. It’s time to stop
living in an ideological dream world, and begin the heavy lifting
required to get this city back on track. Be restless no more!
TOM LICATA
Burlington

Tom also has some flyers about this issue to hand out to your
neighbors, to reach Tom: 658 8624

For those that missed the Wednesday’s (5/31) Ch. 3 6 o’clock news, there was a brief mention of City Attorney McNeil’s findings about the proposed Sanctuary City. Here’s the text from the segment:

Burlington’s Attorney has completed his research into how the city can become a sanctuary for illegal immigrants. Mayor Bob Kiss suggested the move earlier this month at an immigration rally as a way for illegal aliens to reside in Burlington without fear of deportation. City Attorney Joe McNeil says his research into the legal issues indicate the criminal laws must be enforced — but the civil laws regarding immigration issues are more complicated. ((tape 310 tc 11:34 Joseph McNeil/Burlingtonj City Attorney:”There’ll be no recommendation from the City Attorney’s Office that would involve anything less than full enforcement of our criminal laws. And with regard to the civil statutes there’s a great deal of policy discussion that will have to take place between the research that we found and any implementation. So it’s months away.”)) McNeil says he looked at 58 communities in 20 states that currently offer some kind of sanctuary benefit to illegal aliens.

So far, there’s no mention of this issue on the agenda for Monday’s City Council meeting, so we’ll see if there will be an amendment to the agenda, or if there are comments during Public Forum (7:30 time certain for those interested in speaking).